The cheers turned to laughter. This, after all, was the reaction they'd been expecting all along. The crowd thought the foreigners wouldn't be able to drink the beverage at all, and if by some off chance they managed it, that they wouldn't be able to handle it. Iris' cough was validation.
But whatever the filthy barbarians though, Hera was proud of her. Not only had she swallowed the vile stuff, she'd managed to get it down with just a cough. There were others, she knew, that would have ended up spitting it out or vomiting it back up. The messenger would be receiving a hefty reward for doing so well.
Still, Hera wished that she'd been able to swallow the cough along with the liquor. Just a bit more aplomb would have gone a long way with the cretins. Ah well. She would simply have to make up for it with a bit of extra boldness on her part. Her arm was still outstretched, waiting for the cup to be refilled and she wiggled it back and forth as a reminder that it was empty.
That earned her a glare from the furry man-mountain. As though he were irritated with her presumption. Well, she was far more than merely irritated with his attitude and actions. But she only smiled, raising her brows slightly in challenge. She knew how attractive she was when she smiled, and it worked with most men. This one was no different. Hera could tell the very second he decided he was going to try to bed her, willing or not.
As if that would ever happen.
But her cup was refilled and everybody was looking expectant. So she raised it up, but paused before it got to her lips. With a very pointed glance, she looked at his empty hands, then offered him her full cup. The point was clear: she wasn't drinking alone.
This turn of events was also met with approval by the onlookers, so the man-mountain was left with little choice but to accept. Hera made certain he didn't actually touch her when he took the cup. After he did so, she turned to Iris, holding out her hand for the messenger's empty vessel. While she did so, she murmured, “Do you think you can get near the woman? A friend tells more than an enemy.”
She didn't get a chance to hear Iris' reply because she was yanked back around by a beefy hand that then filled her cup. Hera hid her rage at being pawed in such a manner, waiting. Now was not the time. But soon. Very soon. In the mean time, she teach the disgusting creature how Greeks drank.